Fisherman, in general, and game and bass fishermen, in particular, have long known of the propensity of many species of fish for snakes, eels and lizards. As a consequence, in the past, attempts have been made to develop artificial bait which simulates the appearance and motion of snakes or snake-like creatures as closely as possible.
Among patents which utilize the appearance of snake-like fish lures are U.S. Pat. No. 1,701,528 which provides for a lure having a snake-shaped head with a swivel connection to a body having a helical spiral form; U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,026 in which the lure is comprised of an elongated rubber body shaped to resemble a snake; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,891 which provides for a leader bait such as a fish being pursued by a follower bait such as a snake. None of the foregoing lures have the life-like feature of a snake actually swimming with only his head breaking the surface of the water.
Other improvements in artificial bait are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,037,316 which describes a lure having a corkscrew tail which coils and uncoils with a whipping action but which assumes a slightly nose-down attitude; in U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,513 which shows an elongated, resilient, flexible fishing lure having the general appearance of an earthworm or snake; and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,419 which describes a one piece spoon to which a trailing plastic bait is attached. The aforementioned prior patents are cited for background information only.